Chapter Text
On the first day of school, they all got their seats designed and classes established. She looked to the side, disappointed. Unfortunately, someone else got the window seat—a boy with tousled black hair, deep blue eyes and, in her opinion, a dumbfounded expression. She snickered at the way he looked around the room, amazed by the structure and space, once he turned over, though, the boy stopped smiling, as if offended by the murmur of the class or, even, her tiny laugh. That day she thought about apologizing for laughing, but it was honest, there was no mockery, still, as soon as the bell rang the boy flung away from the classroom and, well, something so little as this would be forgotten soon, right?
Thursday came and she sat on her chair, smiling and laughing with the girls. They just came back from lunch—the boy was there, sprawled around the desk, sleeping soundly. He was just like that before they went out and, looking at it, did he even wake up? Ate something? She sighed and poked at his shoulder, “Hey man, did you have lunch?”, she said, there was no answer though, the boy only turned to the side and groaned.
Sighing again, she saw no other way around—got up to her feet and shook his shoulders, he woke up scared. “Sorry, sorry”, she said sing-soned, almost laughing, it was kind of funny. “Lunchtime is almost over, have you eaten?”
He looked, again, dumbfounded, eyes jumping out of its sockets—she almost laughed, but hold against, lips pressed in a thin line. Then, he jumped out of his seat, all clumsy and hasty, barely keeping onto his feet. By the door, he turned his face over and practically yelled, “Thank you!”
His flushed cheeks were kind of cute, though.
A couple of weeks later, she thought it was a better idea to just wake him up as soon as the class was over. He was more asleep than awake most days and, though she didn't actually know him, he was a colleague, right? If anything, it would be wrong to let the guy sleep his hours away without eating. So, on a sunny Wednesday, after a long history class, she was actually envious of him, should've slept just too.
This time, she shook his arm and called, warning it was lunchtime. As the boy woke up, yawning and scratching his eyes, she said: “You know, I should've slept this one too. It was soooo boring…” and then laughed slightly.
The boy, to his credit, looked just as air-minded as any other day, but smiled, shook his head. “It’s lunchtime, right?”
“Yeah…” she leaned back in her chair, looking through the window. “What are you eating?”
“Hum?”, he looked confused, as if he didn't expect her to stay there. Well, couldn't blame him—normally, she would wake him up and just get out of the classroom. But, then, he shied away, scratching the back of his head, “Just omelet rice with some vegetables, I was too tired to cook something better.”
His eyes were puffy, with big dark circles under it—yeah, by the looks on his face, ‘too tired’ seemed more like too little to explain. She didn't say anything about that, though, it would be pushing. “Sounds good, actually. Better than waiting in a long line for bread.”
“Ouch”, he scoffed, as if remembering long battle days and, considering how the vending works and the prices of the actual canteen of True Cross Academy, she understands. She really understands. “Shouldn’t you be there already?”
Her shoulders tilted up, a weird grimace. “I’m mustering up courage.”
The boy actually laughed, and talking about teeth—he had prominent and sharp ones, like a vampire trying to hide its canines. She almost commented on that, afterall, put the teeth together with his translucent plus cold-tone skin you can have your own Volturi, your particular dead ancient creature. It just didn't make much sense because Edward Cullen studied and this guy… Well, guess you can’t be a vampire if you are always sleeping.
“After I almost fought with Bon over a yakisoba bun, I decided it was better to just cook and bring my lunch. Too much trouble for something so small, so… yeah,” he looked to his side and then out of the window, she was thinking about her options of food and how maybe she would be the one fighting this ‘Bon’ today, a yakisoba bun looked delicious now. But then, “If you want, we can share…” he said, face going flushed in record time, embarrassed, then, he began to stutter, “Like, I mean, you've been waking me up all this time and, hum, also—”
“Thanks, dude. I was in no mood to wait in the line”, she snickered. The boy’s face still flushed, but he smiled. She said her name and rose up on her feet, “I’ll buy us soda and find some chopsticks for me, okay?”
“Yeah—okay. I'm Okumura Rin, by the way”, he said and she beamed at him.
“Nice to finally know your name, seat-robber!”
He chuckled, brows frowned in confusion, “I’m a what now?”
That day she uttered a lot of compliments towards his food and made some questions about cooking. Rin talked more freely, eager to share recipes and tips, more easygoing demeanor. She realized he was actually a good company, not just a slobbering student over her side. Often, she would listen to her classmates whispering about him—“He never takes anything seriously”, “That boy looks like a thug”, “Did you know he’s Yukio Okumura's brother? They're so different”, so on and so forth. To her, those comments always seemed exaggerated, he just looked lazy and, speaking about the ‘thug’ affirmations, she didn't see where that guy could resemble a delinquent. If anything, he just had a big frown on his face sometimes.
She did have one complaint about this Okumura Rin person, though—she wanted his seat by the window so badly.
Time passed by and with it they got to know each other. She had her friends in the classroom and that demanded time, yet, more often than not, she would spare some minutes to not only wake him up like before, but chat. There was so much to know, as it happens, for starters, Rin was raised by a priest in church and didn't really know his biological parents—also, the look he gave her while speaking on this topic was so dejected that she had to change the subject. Instead, she asked about the priest and, though the bittersweet end of their present, he sounded content while speaking about his adoptive father. She also told a couple of things about herself from time to time—her family, old friends from her last school and even the friends from this class, she even introduced some of them to him.
Rin was an attentive listener, a lot different than what people thought of him and that was easy to notice once you'd give him a chance.
She also found out they read the same mangas, and that was the real core of their friendship. After classes were totally dismissed and they only had their extracurricular activities to attend to, she would take her magazine out of the backpack and they would walk out of the room, sit on a bench for some time and read the new chapter together. Once they were finished reading and chatting over the story, Rin would leave for his ‘course’ that he never explained nor spoke about and she would go to her club.
These last few days, they were reading Kamisama Kiss, since they pretty much accompanied the launching chapters of Yona—she had to say: he cried over the first chapters, got blushed over the realization that she caught him crying and then tried to pretend it didn't happen. He got so embarrassed that his last remarks were just a tad angrier, but it was actually funny, she had a good laugh over it and, on the other day, even teased him about it. She wouldn't deny the boy looked cute with some colour on his cheeks and, sometimes, she said things just to pester him.
Also, it didn't happen that frequently, but sometimes he would share his lunch with her—more often than she liked to admit, Rin would simply offer to bring her a bento too, saying that he likes to cook and didn't mind, that she needed to eat real food by lunch and not only have dinner late at night. She would dismiss his worries, but last Wednesday he complained so much about her eating habits that it was easier to just accept the offer. So today he brought a second lunchbox and they were eating out of the classroom. The weather was nice, so they sat close to a fountain and she was once again impressed by the taste.
“You know, if I was just a tad more shameless, I’d let you bring me one of these all days of the week”, she giggled. Rin rolled his eyes in amusement, chuckled and pushed her slightly by the shoulder.
“I already offered! You're the one who's stingy about it”, was the reply. After that, though, he brushed off the topic, “Do you think you got a good grade on that math test?”
She sighed, denying only with a movement of her head, a grimace on her face. “Let’s talk about something better… we both know we're screwed”, Rin sighed too and, for more than a minute, they mulled over their grades and how low they were.
One more point in common—two dumb fucks who studied only in the nick of time and, unfortunately, barely passed on their exams. Although, most of Rin's grades were worse than her’s. She couldn't have the luxury of taking only shitty notes, her scholarship was hanging by a thread and the boy, apparently, knew the principal of the Academy. She didn't ask the details about their relationship, but rather looked impressed, it was a curious subject, afterall. Rin was a bit strange, though that wasn't the exact word to call it—there were too many secrets, too many pieces missing in his stories and too many subjects he didn't explain nor could talk about.
There were also times where he’d glare towards some corner of the class and fixate on this for an indefinite time. Some other day, she asked if he believed in ghosts, demons and shit—Rin answered cryptically, nervous, scratching the back of his head, even walked away, saying it was nothing, he was just distracted. She remember staying there on her chair, looking out the window, ‘Why is he so troubled? Is he embarrassed because he's scared of ghosts?’ and, since that day, she teased him a lot and even tried to spook him one time or another. Still, it would be fun if he could actually see ghosts; maybe someday Rin’d tell her what he was seeing.
“What’re you doing during the summer?” she asked, instead of talking about studies or ghosts.
He fidgeted with his food, eyes shifting from her and his hands, as if thinking. She held from commenting about this strange behavior, it happened a lot, though. By now, she was used to not knowing everything—honestly, it was somewhat fun, interesting in a way. Occasionally, she would fantasize about him being a medium, his course, club or whatever he did after class, should be a occultist related thing. Rin definitely talks more smoothly to ghosts than to humans, that's maybe why he is so awkward sometimes.
“I’m going on a camp,” it's his answer, a bit boring for her likes. “And you?”
She tilted her head to the side, pouting her lips, her answer was just as boring, “Going back home, out with some friends… if you're free, we can hangout too!”
As she giggled, his cheeks got tainted in red—if only people knew how easy it was to get this boy flustered, Rin was more sheepish than he looked like. He was scratching the back of his head, “Really?”, he asked, his voice soft, uncertain.
She didn't recall why or how they reached that subject, nor she knew they were so close to be talking about this, it was only natural, it just happened—they were chatting about their childhood and, after she finished a story about a peek-a-boo game where she got lost in the neighborhood, Rin chuckled, saying that was just like her. Then, his gaze shifted, from one of amusement to another of melancholy. He told her the one and only friend he had when he was a child was his brother, Yukio—all the other kids, and even some adults, treated him like he was a beast, not a child. Rin never fitted, had too many problems adjusting and people often misjudged his actions; it was just like in their class, he even said so. ‘If it weren't for you, they’d rather ignore me, thinking I'm just a delinquent or something’, she heard, it was said softly, nostalgically, sadly. Frustrated. He didn't looked angry, though, which she couldn't exactly understand—she was pissed just by listening.
That didn't last, though, if anything, Rin was always ready to open a new big smile, obstinate, it wasn't like him to mull over bad feelings—he bumped their shoulders together that day, saying ‘Thanks, my savior’, jokingly. She admired that at the same time she feared, someone who is strong like this is damned to fall hard at some point. She really hoped he had friends and family who he could lean on, hoped his brother felt as much as him, his friends worried and cherished as much as him. She sure did. Even if she couldn't do much more than talk about shoujo manga and complain about boring classes, she cared. He was a good guy, and did not deserve those things people thought about him. Also, it was easy to like him… unfortunately, it was so easy for her to like him.
“Really”, she uttered, eyes gazing fondly. Her hand touched his forearm, a gentle squeeze, smiling towards him as soon as his expression shifted, softer, touched. Happy. Rin was so simple sometimes.
After that, they exchanged numbers.
He would be out for three days on this camp and, so, they agreed on going out together, an amusement park. This time, he would bring another friend, one that his cheeks got rosy just by speaking—she knew already, obviously. ‘Shiemi’ was her name, she had heard it before, countless times. She knew since the beginning, even before him, and, to be honest, it was fine; he was easy to like, she couldn't be happier if other people thought that too. Hence, she would wait till camp was over and they all would go to the park. It should be fun!
Rin never called, nor texted anything, during the entire summer. They only exchanged one single interaction on the first day of summer break, she asked how the camp was going and he texted her about cooking dinner for his friends, asked about her parents—and that’s it.
He answered back, saying she should enjoy her time with them, a mellowed statement. Couple days later, she texted about the outing they had planned. Then, send another text, saying that if that was the case, they could go somewhere else too if he was scared of heights—the tease didn't work, it seems. He didn't answer. Back then, she looked at her cellphone display, expectantly and taken aback; waiting for a message that never came. Well, too bad for him. She tried, even called one day; if he had his reasons, okay, then, if not, screw him. The one thing she always said to him: she didn't like to wait.
Shutting this matter down, her vacation was fine, she went to see the beach with her family, hung out with the girlies, flirted with some dude she met at the karaoke—it just wasn't the same. She guessed the guy wasn't as interesting as the one who robbed her place by the window. Other than that, she didn't really brood over the situation, Rin stayed in the back of her mind. In a gallery full of smiley pictures of people she appreciated, he was missing, but that wasn't the end of the world. Well, she didn't think that much about him nor the fact that he stood her up, at least not until she entered class and saw him looking through the window, a somber expression.
Then, she didn't think at all—clenching her hands in a fist, she marched toward his seat.
“So, what's your excuse?”, blurted.
It wasn't her intention to say this so bluntly, she wasn't even mad at him to begin with—at least, she thought she wasn't. She had no right to expect anything from him, but still, after seeing Rin the only thing she thought was that he could’ve sent her a text, it was the bare minimum. ‘I can't go’, ‘I’m busy’, ‘Maybe another time’—any of these would suffice. Anything was better than silence.
But Rin turned his face to her, tired eyes and a worn-out semblance—he looked rather distressed to her, that wasn't like him. Her annoyance dissipated quickly, Rin wasn't one for sob feelings, afterall.
“And—and why do you look so sad?” asked, all the sudden feelings being pushed aside, confusion and worry leading the way. “What happened?”
She pushed her chair closer to him, sat down. They still had a couple of minutes until class began, she could forget her complaints about the amusement park and the unanswered texts for a while, there was always tomorrow to pester him. Rin was looking down to his fingers, dejected blue eyes and, as soon as she was close, there was this lopsided smile. For a moment, she thought he was looking somewhat surprised, just like the first day they talked—surprised she was there speaking to him. That sight made her heart clench, why would someone ever feel surprised about something so simple?
Why would Rin feel grateful for something so trivial? That wasn't fair. Not in the slightest.
“Sorry I didn't answer, a lot happened during summer”, he said instead, she patted his shoulder, saying it was okay, he could just bring her another lunch and would be forgiven. He giggled faintly, “Ok, say what you want to eat, my savior!”
The only answer she could give to the weird and cringe nickname was a grimace, but she also realized Rin wouldn't really talk about it. “How are you feeling?”
His eyes doubled in size, she saw too many emotions in a short amount of time—disbelief, melancholy, tenderness and, by the end, joy. He hunched over, smiling, “I am good now, thanks to you,” he reassured. This time, her cheeks were flushed, eyes diverting to her fingernails.
She didn't know what to say and, after a while, this confident and level-headed Rin flew out of the window, suddenly he was reminded of the proximity of their faces, the subject they were talking about and, mostly, what he said—thankfully, the bell rang just at the right time. The girl jumped on her seat and pushed the chair aside, completely blushed, just like him. Throughout the class, they kept sending each other looks.
Rin was happy that at least one friend didn't know about the truth. At least one friend didn't change with him. At least, she still talked to him, smiled at him and cared—he couldn't say how much it meant to him that she cared.
After class was over, he got on his feet and went to her side, sheepishly, Rin apologized again for his silence, her answer was simple—she punched him on his side, “That’s for not answering, douchebag!”, uttered playfully, he even laughed, touched the place, pretending it hurt. “And that's only because I like you,” she hugged him, holding him tightly. “Seat-thief.”
He was really happy they were friends.